Marine pumping system



May 26, 1931. H. F. SCHMIDT MARINE PUMPING SYSTEM Filed March 29, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR H. F schmid't.

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ATTORNEY May 26, 1931. H. F. SCHMIDT MARINE PUMPING SYSTEM Filed March 29, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 llllll I- as PKG-.2. lNVENTOR H- E Schmidt BY Q. Pa.

WITNESS ATTORNEY Patented May 26, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT. err-ice HENRY F. SCHMIDT, OF LANSDOWNE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC'80 MANUFACTURING'COMPANY, A COB-PORATIGN OF PENNSYLVANIA MARINE PUMPING SYSTEM Application filed March 29, 1930. Serial No.440,070.

My invention relates to emergency apparatus for removing Water from the bottom region of a ship to prolong the buoyancy thereof when it is in danger of sinking. I V

Heretofore, it has been customary to provide ships with bilge pumping systems for periodically removing relatively small quantities of water which normally accumulate in the various compartments. While such sys- 19 tems are designed to more than take care of ordinary bilge removal, they do not have sufiicient capacity for maintaining or prolonging the buoyancy of a ship in case of extraordinary inrush of water into the ship oo- 15 casioned by serious accidents. When the length of time taken by the Titanic to sink is considered, water must have been rushing in at about therate of forty thousand gallons per minute. In the case of the recent Vestris disaster, the leakage wa-s somewhere her taken care of by the present invention, the

weight and the required space for such an enbetween five and tenthousand gallons per minute. In these disasters, as well as others, it theships had been equipped with water re moval apparatus of adequate capacity buoyancy could have been maintained or'at least prolonged. If pumping systems of the type heretofore used for the removal of bilge water were so enlarged asto give'capacity sufiicient to cope with emergency situations larged system would attain such large proportions as to make the ideaimpra'ctical'. In

accordance with. my invention, I provide emergency pumping apparatus ofthe pro-- ships, structure as to be capable of removing water from the bottom region of a ship atsuch a rate as to maintain or prolong buoyancy in case of accident.

The inlet of the apparatus is disposed adjacent to the bottom region of a ship and the outlet is arranged to discharge either above or below the water line. A valve is arranged in the outlet, particularly where discharge is below the Water line,and it must be opened when operation of the apparatus is re quired. l/Vhen the apparatus is placed in operation, the sea valve being opened, priming of the pumping mechanism is assured either due to the relatively low location of the inlet andthe propeller or to inflow of water from the sea through the outlet, whereupon the apparatus becomes effective to remove water from the ship. A further and more particular object of my invention is to provide emergency apparatus for removal of water from a ship which includes an outlet connection having a sea valve which may be opened or closed as conditions require. These and other objects are effected by my invention, as will be apparent from the fol.- lowing description andclaims taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic transverse sectional view of a ship showing my improved bilge pumping apparatus applied thereto;

Fig. 2 1s a vertical sectional view of the pumping apparatus; and,

"Figs. 3 and a show modified forms of apparatus.

Referring now to the drawings more in detail, in Figs. 1 and 3 I show a ships hull structure having an interior bottom region indicated generally at l1. In accordance with my invention, I provide large capacity,

emergency pumping apparatus for removing water from the bottom region of the ship and for'discharging it exteriorly of thehull, the

pumping apparatus employing one or more propeller pumps 15. Each propeller pump 15 has its inlet 16 communicating with the interior bottom region of the hull structure. The outlet 17 of the pump is arranged to discharge water exteriorly of the hull by suitable means, for example, bya conduit 18 having its outlet end at the exterior of the ship.

Referring to Fig. 2, the propeller pump includes a housing having a verticallydisposed body portion 21 and an elbow portion 22. The housing is preferably made up of annuli welded to one another as disclosed and claimed in my application, Serial No. H0969, filed March 29, 1930. The body portion 21 is convergent at its lower end, as indicated at 23. The inlet 16 is associated with the convergent inlet end and the discharge conduit 17 is connected to the outlet of the elbow portion 22.

A propeller 25 is arranged interiorly of the body portion 21 and near to the inlet thereof and it is carried by the lower end of the power shaft 26, the propeller having a hub 27 retained in position on the shaft by the faired nut 28. Immediately above, or at the discharge side of the propeller, and carried interiorly by the body portion 21., there is a guide vane structure 29 having a central bearing 30 fitting the shaft 26 adjacent to the hub 27. The shaft 26 extends upwardly through the wall of the elbow portion 22, the latter having a gland 32 cooperating with the shaft 26.

A prime mover 33 drives the shaft 26. Preferably the prime mover is supported by the housing 20, and it may be of any suitable type, for example, a steam turbine. The prime mover or turbine support is shown as a tubular member 34 curved and biased at its lower end to fit on top of the elbow and be welded thereto, and the upper end of the support is connected to the prime mover or turbine.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, a sea valve 35 is arranged in the discharge conduit for the pump. The turbine 33 has a steam inlet 37 provided with an admission valve 38. The sea valve 35 and the turbine valve 38 are preferably opened and closed by common operating mechanism, at a0, manipulated by a hand wheel 41 preferably located at an upper deck or at a. point outside of the compartment within which the propeller pump is located.

The housing 20 extends down near the lowermost portion of the interior of the hull so that the propeller may be readily submerged to assure starting of the pump. However, where the discharge is below the water line, submergence of the propeller by relatively low location is not so important, for, when the sea valve is opened, water will flow back tot-he propeller to prime or submerge the latter.

In Fig. 4, apparatus is shown, somewhat similar to Fig. 1 and capable of being used where the discharge is above the water line. Instead of having a sea valve opened and closed by control mechanism, in this View I show a flap valve 42 for discharge conduit 18. A spring 43 is connected to the flap valve to bias the latter closed; and it is, therefore, unnecessary to have the steam valve operating shaft 39 connectedto the sea valve, as in Figs. 1 and 3.

As the emergency water removal apparatus employs propeller pumps, such apparatus becomes possible and practicable to maintain or prolong buoyancy of a ship in case of critical accidents. A propeller pump is peculiarly suitable for the present purpose in that it has relatively large capacity for the weight and space required. A propeller pump is furthermore essential on account of its capacity to pass solid objects or debris such as coal, pieces of wood, dunnage, etc. My invention consists in the use of propeller pump means in emergency water removal apparatus for ships and such construction and arrangement of the apparatus including propeller pump means and its relative location that adequate water-removal capacity for the aforementioned purposes may be provided.

In the foregoing embodiments, I have shown a single pump associated with a single ships compartment. However, it will be obvious that, in providing a complete bilge or salvage pumping system for a large ship including a substantial number of watertight sub-divisions or compartments, a pumping system of the character shown in the drawings may be provided for each or for several of the compartments. By providing a multiple pumping system of this character, it will be possible to maintain very large ships afloat for indefinite periods of time even though they be seriously damaged and there be a constant inrush' of sea water into one or more of their compartments.

While I.have shown my invention in three forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a ship, of emergency apparatus for removing water from the ship to prolong or maintain its buoyancy when in danger of sinking comprising at least one propeller pump including a vertically-disposed housinghaving its inlet opening into the bottom region of the ship, a vertical shaft arranged coaxially of the housing, and a propeller in the housing and connected to said shaft; a prime mover for driving the shaft; 21 support carried by the housing for supporting the prime mover; and a conduit connecting the housing outlet with the exterior of the ship.

2. The combination with a ship, of emergency apparatus for removing water from the ship to prolong or maintain its bouyancy when in danger of'sinking comprising at least one propeller pump having its inlet in communication with the bottom region of the ship, a shaft arranged coaxially of the housing and extending through the wall thereof, and a propeller in the housing and connected to said shaft; a steam turbine connected to the shaft; an admission Valve for the turbine; a conduit connecting the housing outlet with the exterior of the ship; a sea valve in the conduit; and common operating mechanism for the valves.

3. The combination with a ship, of emer gency apparatus for removing water from the ship to prolong or maintain its buoyancy when in danger of sinking comprising at least one propeller pump including a housing having its inlet opening into the bottom region of the ship, a shaft arranged coaxially of the housing, and a propeller in the housing and connected to said shaft; a prime mover for driving the shaft, a support carried by the housing for supporting the prime mover; and a conduit connecting the housing outlet with the exterior of the ship.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 27th day of March,

' HENRY F. SCHMIDT. 

